5 tips for high school success

Underclassmen,

As my four years of high school come to a halt in just a couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about my time here and what I’ve taken away from my experience. From grades to a social life, to sports and clubs, there’s a lot I wish I would have known before I tried to do them all at once. I did the best I thought I could do during high school, but knowing what I know now, I would have had a huge advantage. So, without further ado, here’s a couple pieces of advice to make your high school life a little easier.

1.Don’t ask other people “how the test was.”

Everybody goes into a test differently. Some people understand test material without even glancing at a study guide, some people may have studied for eight hours, and some people may think they’re prepared for a test, but really, they need to know a lot more than they expected. The point is, nobody that you ask knows the material the same as you or has the same outlook on a test. Don’t psych yourself out; don’t ask other people how the test was.

2. Ask qualified people what a specific class actually entails.

Picking out classes can be one of the most stressful times of the middle of the year. Honing your schedule to perfection is a tough thing to do, especially if you don’t know anything about any of the classes you’re signing up for. A counselor will recommend what class may best suit you, but better yet, asking someone who has actually experienced a class will give you the most accurate description of what to expect. Have a designated person who is in the grade above you and has roughly the same level of knowledge, and bombard them with questions about classes you’re thinking of taking.

3. Work extra hard your freshman and sophomore years

As you’ve probably heard many times already, it is so important to get your GPA as high as you can right from the start of high school. Because your GPA is cumulative, you’re stuck with the grades you get from the very beginning of freshman year until the end of senior year. If you suddenly have a change of heart junior year and try to get good grades, it’s so hard to play catch up and raise your GPA. So, work extra hard your freshman and sophomore years to raise your GPA so that when junior year comes, you can focus on other things like the ACT and SAT, AP classes, and making a college list.

4.Have something to look forward to.

Day after day, high school seems to drag on. With a negative mentality, school can seem never ending, and motivation can quickly dwindle. Having something to look forward to over the weekend or during summer helps you see the light at the end of the tunnel and keeps stamina up. Some things I used were trips to the city, taking a mental health day, or a vacation during the summer.

5.Be open-minded during your college search

It seems like every moment of high school is preparing you to finally leave Libertyville and go off to college. Because of this, there is so much pressure put around picking the perfect college and going to the most impressive school. For me personally, I wanted to go to California. I was so set on going out west for better weather and “cooler people” that I was close-minded to all other schools. This prolonged my college search by about a year because honestly, California is not where I belong. I finally realized this when I visited the University of Illinois (the last place in the world I thought I would be going) and fell in love with everything pertaining to a school in my home state. It was disappointing realizing my dream school wasn’t really my dream school, but that helped me discover which school was actually right for me.

Unfortunately, I was given a word count limit, but if I had more space, I would tell you to experience the fun parts of high school, join clubs, reach out to new people, and take advantage of all our school has to offer.

Yes it’s cliche, but I promise that every one of you will get to your last weeks of senior year and wish you could do it all again. Enjoy your time and try not to rush through high school because once it’s done, it’s done. 

Hope this helped!

-Lizzie Foley